United States v. Thomas Henry Logan

In a court trial, after waiver of a jury, appellant was found guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1407 , attempting to enter the United States after conviction of violation of the marihuana laws of the state of California, without surrendering the certificate required by § 1407.

On or about May 26, 1959, appellant was convicted in the Superior Court of the state of California of a violation of the marihuana laws of that state, the penalty for which offense was imprisonment for more than one year. On May 21, 1967, he entered the United States from Mexico at San Ysidro, California. Approximately 30 yards north of the border, while driving his 1958 Buick automobile, appellant was stopped by a United States Customs inspector.

The inspector ascertained that appellant was a citizen of the United States and “that he was bringing nothing from Mexico.” Appellant did not present to the inspector any registration or certificate required by § 1407. A short time later, at a secondary inspection area, a small or insignificant quantity of marihuana was found in the vehicle. The inspector testified that he did not know that appellant was required to register at the time the vehicle was stopped. The…